Frame Protection: Invisiframe, Ride Wrap or something else?

I got the full RideWrap kit for my newest bike. Watched hours of videos on how to fit it so I knew how to do it properly. First piece was a PITA and I had to take it off and refit it a couple of times but after that it was fairly easy once I got the feel for the material. Just took a long time (4 or 5 hours) going slow and steady. Lots, and I do mean lots of soapy water is the key, plus a hairdryer.

If you do all your own maintenance and are quite DIY-savvy its not a hard job, just time-consuming. If you are cack-handed then pay someone to do it.

I did Invisiframe myself, same experience as above. Not difficult just takes patience and lost of soapy water and liberal use of sponges and squeegee to get it to stay on.

Friend’s  experiences with “professional” fitting has been varied to say the least.

I think that they’re all basically the same product.

The custom kits are better than the generic ones I think.

I recently fitted an Invisiframe kit to a new carbon Stumpy Evo. Elected to do it myself after some prompting and good advice on here and watching all the videos. Happy with the results so far, but it's only been on a few months, so can't speak to longevity. My top tips would be:

- Don't be in any hurry. Probably took me about 5 hours over a couple of days.

- Do it in a clean, well-lit, indoor space: dust and grime are your mortal enemies.

Good luck!

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I has the Ride Wrap kit fitted by Bird (I think personally by @benpinnick) to my new Aeris AM ... he's done a top-notch job!

I did a generic FS RideWrap kit to my previous Swarf Contour. I didn't do such a top-notch job. But then, I didn't take loads of care and time, and essentially I just wanted to protect the key areas. Even so, it was reasonably straightforward to do a 'not too awful' job without spending a full weekend on it!

I was surprised how easy invisiframe went on, although it's a very methodical job as said - did it on a ripmo last year. Thought it looked great for a first effort, some minor imperfections, an experienced person could get it looking perfect.

I'd be cautious about getting it done in a shop unless they were very experienced with it. Not just that it could be done badly, but to do it properly takes time and would end up being pretty costly, like 4 hrs is not unreasonable for a full suspension frame. Maybe if you're a wizard with it and have done loads it would be closer to 2 hrs.

I'm cack-handed. Any recommendations for someone to do a decent invisiframe job in North/West Yorkshire?

https://www.snakeskinwrapping.com/

https://www.shackwrap.co.uk/

I've just ordered a Bird Aether in raw so thinking about just getting an AWS kit on the down tube and cable rub patches as it 'should' be a fairly resilient finish. If I was doing a proper job I'd pay for a full ridewrap done by a a pro.

Thought about it with my new steel hardtail......about the same price to get it re- coated TBH rather than putting any protection film on.

If I was dropping a few £1000's on a carbon bling then I would certainly consider it.

I have repurposed a carbon down tube protector that was made for a MK1 Starling Murmur which didn't fit the MK2 frame, bit of Dremel action to fit to the hardtail.

I've done 2 invisiframe kits on FS bikes. Takes a while but years later they still look not too bad.

Picked up a Vitus 20+ for eldest and intend to pass it on to youngest. I got a sheet of invisiframe and made templates. Bike is covered but it took an age and designing it is more involved than I thought.

As above ive used Shackwrap and snakeskin before  .Both were very good but I have to say Jake at Snakeskin just does it slightly better  .    To the point I collected my new frame this week and hes already done a stunning job on it .   the image is of the detail on my other frame  ..  He also offers damage replacement  now from what ive been told ..

If a frames with protecting  do it properly  and for the price differnce with a kit and the time it takes to do it  id rather it be done right in the first place.

Looked at this recently and there seemed to be a lot of conflicting information online about whether RideWrap or Invisiframe is thicker/tougher. Seemed to be nothing in it, so I was going to go with Invisiframe being a British company, until I was advised by someone very experienced with both that RideWrap is thicker and better coverage plus easier.

I have the patience and time to do it myself, but it'd annoy me for years knowing all the little things I'd inevitably get not quite right. So I had someone I trust do it. It is the type of job any monkey can claim to be competent in though and do it poorly due to incompetence or rushing, so I agree caution is needed.

I’ve just ordered a Bird Aether in raw so thinking about just getting an AWS kit on the down tube and cable rub patches as it ‘should’ be a fairly resilient finish.

AMS Honeycomb? I did put a kit on mine (painted one) but I've removed most of it by now. It's pretty conspicuous even in the clear one and I found it just looked dirty all the time, I think the dirty water just settles in the honeycomb. Very tough though, but for me tougher than necessary on the conspicuous places (cable, knee, and heel rub), and not absorbent enough for the stones flicked onto the downtube.

Given your particular circumstances, @gribble ,  I would recommend a few rolls of black insulation tape and a more familiar bike in front of it.

Have had bikes with both. Best result of all was invisframe fitted by the folks at invisiframe. Amazing. Still looking good 10 years on. My latest bike has ride wrap. Hmm. It bunches up very easily if you use bike racks / hooks to store or transport the bike. However, it is really good at shedding mud. Almost like silicon spray. The bunching thing doesn't look good, but the bike is still protected, so kind of acceptable overall.

If it is an option, get invisiframe to fit their kit fir you.

If its any use helping you to decide, RideWrap kids are sold under licence by local distributors now so they don't need to dispatch from North America / Canada like before. The kit for my Spur came via Slik Graphics.

If Sweden is considered local!

kids are sold under licence by local distributors now so they don’t need to dispatch from North America / Canada like before

Gosh. Even if it's quicker and more convenient, it's still not right though, surely?

Thanks all; gone with Invisiframe (mostly as there was a saving online). Will see if it was the right choice.

I have shared the ridewrap ‘bunching’ on my hardtail, but it still works. I think I may give it a go myself; doing the hardtail gave me some confidence in giving it a go. Will see if I can spare half a weekend to have a crack at it when the time comes…

If you don't mind DIYing it this works out a lot cheaper. I can't tell any difference between it and ride wrap.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/354098373029?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=hnbnhycvqw6&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=DZU17OBpR5y&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

First bike i did was invisiframe

time consuming, unforgiving

since then i buy the MTB Protex tape or kits from amazon at a fraction of the price

the material is thinner but seems more than adequate, fitting is easier, but obviously not quite full coverage

got a top fuel to do soon, debating what to use

If it’s done properly it shouldnt ruck up, in spite of contact with racks etc. Make sure the edges are properly pressed down with the scraper thing, and as few bubbles as poss.

whether RideWrap or Invisiframe is thicker/tougher. Seemed to be nothing in it,

There is nothing in it. Done a hardtail in each and the invisiframe was a slightly better cut - could’ve been the model of frame though. Ridewrap give you better application accessories and more branded stickers - thats the main difference 😊

I tried myself years ago, but realised it’s better getting someone to do it (lot better job) since then I’ve used Jake (snakeskin) excellent job, and great to deal with, also the wrap he does,  literally covers 95% of my frame/forks/cranks,  where as the kits don’t cover no where near, if your spending good money on a high quality Carbon frame then treat it 👍

Can anyone recommend a fitter in Surrey / West Sussex/ Surrey Hills area? Still considering doing it myself, but if I don’t, I would like to pay someone to do a cracking job.

What's wrong with a length of 3M helitape, scissors, water and a hair dryer?

What’s wrong with a length of 3M helitape, scissors, water and a hair dryer?

I work in a somewhat adjacent industry and can get the tape trade price, plus have the tools & skills to do the templating & professional cutting, and I still don't think I would bother if it was just a one-off, considering I can get an Invisiframe kit delivered for £85 🤔 The only thing that puts me off slightly is in @stevedoc 's pic there's quite a noticeable area which isn't covered at all! Are there lots of sections like that??

In the case of fork protection, Invisiframe coverage seems to be better. The RideWrap tailored kits don't cover any of the arch (as seen in their coverage diagrams), whereas Invisi does (as pictured on a few forks I checked). It might vary by fork on Invisi, but it looks like you'll never have arch coverage with RideWrap.

So if you're installing a mudguard on RideWrap, you'll need to helitape the arch to protect it from the guard below and the cable ties above.

How do these kits cope with dropped chainstays, which curve in several directions?

considering I can get an Invisiframe kit delivered for £85

The 3M tape I got 3 years ago to do my current carbon xc bike cost about £23

I don't really notice it's there, looks pretty good to me. I used the bits left over to do my Brompton a year ago. There's still a load in the drawer, will probably stick it on junior's new bike when it arrives.

But it's your money.

I used invisiframe on my Yeti ARC. A beer in the garden in the sunshine* and a couple of hours later it was done. It's not difficult, just time consuming and finicky. Use loads of water, use a spray bottle with their fluid in it liberally, and start with a piece that's not going to be the first thing you look at - I chose the inside of a chain stay,  to work out  how to do it and it'll be fine.

How do these kits cope with dropped chainstays, which curve in several directions?

Easily. The wrap itself is pretty flexible, and as long as you take your time, it'll conform to pretty complex shapes.

* yes I know everyone says do it indoors, but it was fine, it was a nice warm and still day, and the light really helped to see where it was going.

belugabob
How do these kits cope with dropped chainstays, which curve in several directions?

They're cut, slotted, separated into bits to cope with most shapes. But you do still have untaped sections. Small sections, it'd be pretty impossible to use a wrap to entirely cover a bike frame!
It would also be a damn site more faff to cut non-customised heli-tape to the same level of fit.

Nah it's fun, just cut out card templates if you want the shapes to be an amazing fit but after a bit of practice you can do it by eye

You can do a decent job with a roll of helitape, it's the same stuff at the end of the day. The difficulty is getting the right shape so you're unlikely to get the same coverage if you're making your own templates.  I've done a decent home job on my hardtail but as it's steel with straight tubing, getting the right shape wasn't too much effort. Fwiw it's still looking good and not peeling after about 4 years.

The 3M tape I got 3 years ago to do my current carbon xc bike cost about £23

I've Invisiframed a few carbon FSers in the past. Always impressed with the coverage and general design - it's expensive if you consider its just some clear protective stuff that could be bought far cheaper, but it's the design work you're paying for.

Only negative point I'd say is the matte finish Invisiframe kit I fitted to Mrs a11y's previous bike didn't hold up as well as the gloss kits I've used on others.

Before Invisiframe I used Ventureshield-branded clear film on the main contact points. Much better than generic clear protective film - thicker and a good amount of stretch for doing curves etc. Its the same stuff used on many car PPF kits.

after a bit of practice

Sounds right fun that.

Although the OP has bought now...

If you buy RideWrap you're getting it from a UK company owned by/franchised from a Canadian one. If you buy invisiframe you're getting it from a UK company owned by an American one. Im not sure there's much of a difference in that regard. Where there is a difference is the material and the 'kit'. RideWrap is heavier guauge material that I personally think makes it easier to fit. The coverage is about the same between the kits, some models better than others in both cases.

Ridewrap's instructions and fitting kit is definitely better, but you're paying more so thats about right I guess. We only fit RW as its easier & we prefer the 'design style' and so it's less prone to needing to buy replacement parts, we prefer the matt material from RW, plus they build kits off our 3D models so we can send them in ahead of time, but ultimately they do the same job.

Has anyone experience using electrical tape as a budget option - I was thinking this might be ok to protect the black forks where the mudguard rubs.

I've often used it on forks but it rubs through over time so needs a periodic check.

I do on forks yes.

Has anyone experience using electrical tape as a budget option – I was thinking this might be ok to protect the black forks where the mudguard rubs.

Alternatively, cut up bits of old inner tube and glue them to the mudguard at the points it touches the fork. Or, premium version use 3M 2228 rubber mastic tape. I've used both.

Wish I'd seen Ben's post above re Invisiframe vs Ridewrap before ordering an Invisiframe kit. Not that I've ever had issues with Insiviframe but I wasn't even aware of Ridewrap until now.

What’s wrong with a length of 3M helitape, scissors, water and a hair dryer?

What 3m tape do I need (8951?) and where do I get it - the one in el_boufadour's link doesn't ship to Switzerland.

Standard helitape is 8671